autograph
autograph Lexical Profile
autograph Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person's own handwritten signature, especially that of a famous person kept by an admirer as a souvenir.
"Fans waited outside the theater for hours hoping to get the lead actor's autograph."
A manuscript or document written in the author's own handwriting.
"The museum's rarest holding is an original autograph of Mozart's final symphony."
• verb
To write one's signature on a book, photograph, or other item, typically as a souvenir for an admirer.
"The author happily agreed to autograph copies of her novel after the lecture."
• adjective
Written entirely in the author's own hand.
"The library acquired an autograph letter written by the nineteenth-century poet."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'signature' typically refers to an official signing on a legal or business document, 'autograph' specifically denotes a celebrity's or notable person's signature collected as a keepsake.
• Rhymes for autograph
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed via French and Late Latin from the Ancient Greek 'autographos' ('written with one's own hand'), combining 'autos' ('self') and 'graphein' ('to write').